Social Anxiety and Depression

The onset of social anxiety disorder,
unlike with other disorders, is almost always in childhood or
adolescence.

Social anxiety is difficult to diagnosis. I have had many clients
come to therapy describing other other symptoms only to learn that the
true issue was social anxiety. People don't normally know they have it!

Social anxiety impacts not only social success, but reduces
educational attainment, and job success. People with social anxiety are
less likely to apply for higher positions, and are more likely to miss
work days and be unproductive because of their social anxiety.

The need for early intervention

Social anxiety is usually chronic, and causes the most
disruption during during the first three decades of life. Most
clinicians and researchers believe strongly that if there is early
intervention to treat social anxiety, subsequent depressive episodes may
be prevented or the severity of them lessened. There is a very strong
correlation with social anxiety in early adolescence, in particular,
and later depressive episodes.

Unfortunately as is the case with most mental health illness,
early intervention is not a priority in our country or within our health
care system.

A child or teen with social anxiety may also have an early onset
of depression. If you think about being a child with terrible anxiety
about social situations, and no one around you who understands and can
help, it is easy to see why social anxiety and depression would be so
highly correlated.

Lack of support and understanding

Parents often become frustrated with socially anxious children
and teens. Instead of understanding and being able to offer assistance
parents can appear disapproving. Additionally, parents with socially
anxious children often struggle with anxiety themselves, which further
compounds the child’s anxiety.

Isolation

Social anxiety increases the likelihood that a person will
attempt to solve their problems alone, without consulting others or
seeking help. Without understanding the source of the difficulty they
are having, they may be more likely to conclude that they are defective,
and become hopeless and withdrawn thus contributing to the likelihood
that they will get depressed.

Social anxiety ensures that a person will avoid when they feel
overwhelmed. Therefore, it is likely to lead to not only the emotional
isolation described above, but also to a physical isolation. This often
hinders any opportunity they might have at having successful social
interactions that could lead to a corrective experience. When you are
isolated, your depression is more likely to be exacerbated.

Social anxiety and depression, when they occur together,
complicate the course of depression. People who have social anxiety and
depression are more likely to have a longer course of depressive
illness, and also to exhibit more serious symptom logy including
suicidality.

Serious impact on development

Social anxiety affects people as they are developing their unique
personality and sense of place in the world.

In adolescence and early adulthood we are developing our social
network, career, and friendships. Social anxiety also impairs the
development of a strong self esteem, the belief that you can
successfully set and reach goals, and the sense that you are important
and loved by others.

Social anxiety and depression can feed off of one another. When a
person is depressed, they are less able to effectively problem-solve.
Their ability to seek social support and assistance is impaired and
because they are frequently isolated and others may not fully notice.

When a person with social anxiety and depression is seeking
therapy the therapist and client should carefully examine all the
symptoms before determining what to treat first and how to treat it. If
you think that you may be experiencing social anxiety and depression
consult the checklist below.

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